There already exist check printing apparatuses and machines which make it possible to print a transaction amount, generally in digits, on at least one place on a check. Once printed and turned over to its payee, the check, however, must be processed. In particular, as it has in its lower part a strip of identification characters, for instance CMC7 magnetic characters, representing the identity of the bank of the drawer, this strip must be read in order in this way to produce a "check image" and then process this image. It must be possible to effect this processing at a store, a bank or the like. There are devices which effect this processing. There are also devices which effect merely the noting and recording of the check image, recording being understood in the sense of the temporary or permanent storage of the data noted.
The need for such simplified apparatus is felt, in particular, in shops, particularly those where the volume of transactions is not considerable. Once the check image has been noted and recorded, it is easy to transmit it to a processing center by any means, either by sending the recording support or by transmission of the content of the recording support by any other suitable means of teletransmission, for instance, a modem and a telephone line of the public network, or a dedicated line.
These simplified apparatus are based on the principle of reading the identification strip of checks by relative linear drive of the check and a reading device along the strip, whether or not by motorized means, the check being displaced within a slot in the same manner as a bank card in a bank card machine. If the slot is too wide, the check may be bent or wrinkled and the reading may be erroneous. If the slot is too thin, it may be difficult to introduce the check into it.